Rocky Mountain Radar Detector Scam.
One would be well advised not to purchase a Rocky Mountain radar detector.
Why not? Simply because for any drivers intents and purposes, they don't work. If that's not enough reason for you then please send me a $500 bill and I'll send you the deed for a very popular toll bridge. Seriously though, if you don't believe me, I'll happily sell you my Phantom. I've disassembled the case but the unit still functions exactly the same way as it did when it left the factory. I guarantee you won't notice any difference between mine and a new one's performance.
Why have I created this page? Two reasons:
1. Because nobody else has one that turns up on a Google search. RM must threaten legal action against anyone who properly blasphemes them in public. I guess if you're in the business of selling $3 plastic boxes for $200+ you have plenty of money to hire lawyers with.
Update: It's been years and I haven't been threatened by Rocky Mountain Radar in any way. I hereby rescind my assumptions about their (ab)use of our legal system.
2. I purchased one. :-( At least I had the good fortune of buying mine used at half off. I'll post some of the pictures of my Phantom up here soon. I've got good photos of it, inside and out.
What do you recommend for a Radar Detector?
I currently use an Escort Passport 8500. It is simply one of the finest Radar Detectors available. See the reviews in SpeedLabs tests, Car & Driver magazine, or any other automobile enthusiasts site. It consistently ranks at the top of every chart. The one thing I don't yet have and want is a laser jammer, two of which are on my wishlist.
http://www.radartest.com/STFAQ.html
Q. Do radar jammers work?
A. No. Passive jammers, invented by Mike Churchman and still sold by his Rocky Mountain Radar and others, transmit nothing, are perfectly legal and have no effect on radar. Active jammers like the $600 Phantom RCD once worked somewhat but are totally ineffective against modern radar.
Q. Do laser jammers work?
A. Rocky Mountain Radar laser jammers are worthless, as are most others priced under $250. The few exceptions are active jammers that transmit powerful infrared light beams and effectively confuse lasers. The best of these first detect and warn of the laser then transmit a brief reply, allowing time to slow down. A continuously transmitting laser jammer is a bad idea since an officer will quickly catch on to the ruse.
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/automotive/radar_detectors/fullstory.html
"Besides radar and laser detectors, there are other devices on the market aimed at avoiding speeding tickets. However, experts do not recommend any of the following products.
Passive radar jammers receive incoming radar signals, scramble them, and send them back to the radar gun without amplification. A good passive radar scrambler will usually blank police radar for about 12 to 15 seconds. However, tests by Automobile Magazine, Speed Labs and Car and Driver show that passive radar jammers are ineffective.
An active radar jammer continually scans for police radar; once it detects a signal, it returns a low-power, variable signal that effectively "blanks" the police radar. A good active radar jammer will jam the signal either totally or until you get very close to the source of the signal. Jamming or attempting to jam a police radar gun is a federal felony punishable by fines up to $75,000 and one year in jail; certain states (including California, Utah, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana and Oklahoma) have laws prohibiting any jamming device."
http://www.copradar.com/preview/chapt7/ch7d1.html
Passive jammers are suppose to re-radiate the radar signal after distorting it (adding noise and/or rapidly shifting frequency) in such a way the true target reflection is masked by the distorted signal. A passive jammer does not generate or amplify a signal, only channel or redirect the radar signal (after distorting) back toward the radar. For this method to work the jammer (distorted signal) power must be as large as or greater than target reflected power
-- the jammer antenna would need to capture well over half of all the radar energy striking the target (a very large jammer antenna), and be aligned to the radar antenna. To date all known passive jammers have absolutely no effect on any radar under any circumstances.On 4 December 1997 the FCC ruled passive jammers violate federal regulations because the jammers radiate RF (Radio Frequency) energy that (or is intended to) adversely affect the ability of law enforcement officials to protect public safety on the highways. The ruling was based on a passive jammer (Sprint II) made by Rocky Mountain Radar in Colorado. Before this ruling passive jammers were not considered transmitters and thus not covered by FCC regulations.
http://webm31b4.ntx.net/radar.htm
"The second type of jammer on the market today is the passive jammer. Passive jammers do not transmit any signal. The principal is that the jammer receives a signal, mixes in a "chirp" and transmits it back to the radar gun, thus making it legal in terms of not transmitting it's own radar signal. This theory works on paper, and only slightly works if you stick a very low powered radar gun right up to the passive jammer. If the two devices are more than a few inches away, the passive jammer is 100% ineffective against the radar. This goes for both radar and laser passive jammers.
The most popular passive jammers on the market come from Rocky Mountain Radar. The Phazer and the Phantom (not be confused with the Phantom RCD which is an active jammer) do not work. Numerous magazine tests (see articles below) have proven all Rocky Mountain Radar (RMD) devices ineffective. Recently the FCC added legislation which specificly targets RMD. The new law states that any device, if intended to interfere with police speed measurement, is illegal. Even though passive jammers do not work, they are still illegal under this legislation."
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Accessories/laserradar.htm
Radar Jammers
Because radar is a 50 year old technology, it is kind of imprecise. Therefore jamming is tough, you need a wide bandwidth and a fair amount of power. None of the "passive" jammers do anything. These are sold mainly by Rocky Mountain Radar. Basically a box with a power jack and an LED, this is a great business. Active jammers are big and heavy.
http://www.1-radar-laser-jammers-detectors.com/passive-scramblers.html
Why passive radar laser scramblers don't work. How they differ from
"active" jamming device and jammers .....
http://www.realbig.com/miata/miata/1998-09/2887.html
On 9/22/98 13:06, RKMorrow@aol.com RKMorrow@aol.com wrote:
>This is true; active jammers (those generating and emitting radar frequencies)
>have always been illegal. According to Car and Driver, March 1998, the FCC
>has ruled that the passive jammers are also illegal. These passive jammers
>take some of the radar energy from an external source (the radar gun),
>modulate it with a tone, and re-radiate it back toward the source. So why
>are passive jammers still being advertised?
For the same reason they still buy deer whistles for the bumper and ultrasonic cockroach repellers, despite a total lack of evidence that they work--it's nearly impossible for a layman to disprove the claims (until it's too late), and folks tend to be optimistic about allegedly-"scientific" solutions to irritating problems...in other words, people are terribly gullible. Suckers, if you will. TANSTAAFL.
Hey Matt,
I absolutely love your website. I have also taken the offensive to give RMR as much bad rap as possible. I made a website like you to totally destroy Rocky Mountain Radar and added your website as a link. I'm sure you'll like my site because unlike others I actually sell police radar guns for a living and was able to test the rocky mountain radar equipment against several guns and my police laser gun. I made 5 videos with 2 more videos being added next week about my testings against RMR. If you want to see my site it's JammerTests.com. Thanks again for being another guy out there trying to get the truth out.Chris
http://www.radarbusters.com/support/jammers/Default.asp
Came across your site on radar jammers, great information
You may add that I will give ANYONE $5000.00 that can show me a radar jammer that works, here is information on my challenge
http://www.radarbusters.com/support/jammers/Default.asp
Radar Roy